How to protect yourself on a public Wi-Fi network

Public Wi-Fi hotspots are very useful these days. We use them frequently, but often without being aware of the risks associated with their use. In this article, you'll learn what these risks are and how to protect yourself from them.

Business travel is slowly starting to resume, and business travel means airports, hotels, train stations, and more. There are so many public places where Wi-Fi connections are available and accessible to all. But while these Wi-Fi connections are very useful and can even be essential for continuing to work even while traveling, they are very often unsecured and can even be dangerous.

Indeed, anyone can connect to it. Unfortunately, everyone also means people with bad intentions. This is why it's very important to protect yourself when accessing the internet via public Wi-Fi. This is especially important if you're working with sensitive and/or confidential data.

What are the risks of using public Wi-Fi?

First of all, public Wi-Fi hotspots are often not encrypted at all . This means that malicious people can easily access your information. Indeed, one of the major challenges of hotspot encryption is to protect users' personal information. Hackers are looking for your login credentials, banking information, personal data, photos, etc. because this is the type of information they can use to profit from the situation.

If you're on a business trip, in addition to putting your personal data at risk, you're also putting your company's data, and perhaps even your customers', at risk. This data can be worth its weight in gold to cybercriminals! It's also important to know that if Wi-Fi access is free, it's likely because the provider is using user data. And yes, when a service is free, you're often the product !

You can also be the target of malware implantation if your device is not properly protected: viruses, ransomware, Trojans, etc. It could also be that a cybercriminal tries to hijack your session: the attacker intercepts information about your computer and its connection to websites and then configures his computer to match yours, thus hijacking the connection and pretending to be you.

Furthermore, if someone uses network analysis software (a "packet sniffer"), they can spy on and record all data exchanges that occur on the network they are connected to and public networks are perfect playgrounds for this kind of activity.

Finally, another risk is that someone could impersonate a network you trust. For example, your hotel's network. A malicious person could easily impersonate your hotel by using a similar name for its Wi-Fi and thus take advantage of the situation to steal personal data.

How to protect yourself on a public Wi-Fi network?  

Now that you know the risks of using a public Wi-Fi hotspot, you're probably wondering how to protect yourself.

First of all, it will be important to encrypt your data. For this, you can use a VPN, Virtual Private Network . Indeed, the VPN encrypts the data, making it unreadable by a third party. Also, the VPN hides the IP address of the device that uses it, thus adding a layer of protection.

Next, it is recommended to use two-factor authentication . This helps limit the risks if a cybercriminal manages to obtain your login details because they will need to pass a second authentication step to access your accounts.

• In addition, here are several good practices to put in place to browse the web safely
• Limit activities that reveal your personal information (banking transactions for example)
• If possible, prefer to use your mobile data as a hotspot with your cell phone
• Stay vigilant and learn to recognize the signs of an attack and hack
• If you can, work offline. For example, you can download a browser extension that lets you access Google Docs offline

In summary

There are many risks associated with using a public Wi-Fi hotspot. These risks are magnified if you're working with business data, which is often sensitive and confidential. To avoid becoming a target for cybercriminals while traveling, there are several easy-to-implement solutions available. Starting with a VPN and establishing good web browsing habits.

About Nexxo

Nexxo Computer Solutions specializes in providing IT and technology services to Quebec businesses. Its mission is to offer Quebec companies IT services tailored to their needs. Acting as an external IT department, it handles all of a company's IT tasks, allowing it to focus on its business activities. It achieves this by collaborating closely with its clients and putting their interests at the center of its concerns.